Project CCS
by GirlquinndreameR
Summary: UPDATED! Part 1: Love & Marriage. Teradasensei's class is assigning a married life project and guess who is paired w who! Part 2: Family matters. The couples now have to take care of their own kids!
1. Part 1: Love & Marriage

Project CCS Part 1: Love and Marriage

            The school bell rang at Tomoeda Elementary School.  Everyone stood up as they saw Terada-sensei enter the room.  He signaled all of them to sit.  "Today, class, I'm going to explain a very large project: your marriage project."  The class began to groan and whisper.  He continued.  "The groups are one boy and one girl playing a couple.  There will be two parts.  The first part is the marriage.  You will be in charge of recording your preparations and expenses for the wedding as well as your expenses for other things, like the honeymoon and such."

Meiling raised her hand.  "Terada-sensei?  Will we pick the partner?" She glanced over to Syaoran Li, who looked away.

"Actually," Terada-sensei pointed to a plastic bowl sitting on his desk.  "Partners will be determined by the husband drawing names.  Now boys, come up to the front and make a line.  Pick a name and don't tell anyone yet."  All the boys in the class did what they were told.  Some boys made disgusted faces while others jumped for joy.  Syaoran pulled one out and blushed a fierce red.

All the boys returned to their seats when they were done.  "Now," Terada-sensei said, "You have to go to your partner or in this case, 'fiancée' when I say so.  Afterwards, you both will draw your occupations and wages.  In 2 weeks, your record of marriage expenses are due and then we can hold a 'mock marriages.'"

He pulled out two baseball caps filled with bits of paper.  "You may now head to your partner and I will pass out your jobs."

            Sakura looked up and saw Tomoyo sitting next to Sano, one of the most popular boys in the class.  She noticed Meiling was sitting next to Kintaro, who's had a big crush on her.  She wasn't too happy about it.  Sakura looked behind her.  Syaoran still sat there.  "Syaoran-kun, what are you still doing here?"

            "I...I'm already sitting next to my partner," he responded and showed her the piece of paper.  It had the name "Kinomoto Sakura" on it.

            "Oh wow!" Sakura commented.  She seemed not to notice his blushing cheeks.  "I would never have guessed that we would be paired up!  This will be great!"

            Terada-sensei approached them.  "All right you two.  The red cap is for the girls and the blue is for the boys."

            After Sakura and Syaoran picked their papers, they looked at it.  "Mine says 'teacher'," Sakura said.  " 'Teacher (subject depends on your personal choice).'"

            "Yah, mine says that too," said Syaoran.

            "Cool!  How about we say we're a married couple at the same school?" Sakura suggested.

            "Yah, that'd be cool," he agreed.

            After that, Terada-sensei went to each couple and wrote down their information.

3

            "I'm a music teacher!" Sakura exclaimed.  It was lunchtime and everyone was talking about the project.  "Syaoran wanted to be a soccer coach, so Terada-sensei gave him the position of PE instructor and the coach thing." 

            "I got a fashion designer and Sano got an actor," Tomoyo cooed.  She looked at Meiling.  "What about you, Meiling?"

            Meiling took a big bite of her sandwich. "I work at a ramen shop and Kintaro works at a big computer company."

            "Well, Takashi owns an advertising agency while I'm a video store clerk!" Chiharu complained.  "This is awful!" She turned to her remaining friends.  "What do you girls have?"

            "I'm a nurse and Hoji is a pro-baseball player," Naoko answered.

            "I'm a secretary for Aoshi's music company," Rika said.

            Meiling and Chiharu sighed in despair.  "Dangit..." they said together.

            "I wished I was paired up with Syaoran..." Meiling muttered.

            Tomoyo whispered to Sakura.  "Hey, that means Li-kun will be paying visits to your house."

            Sakura blushed slightly.  "Yah, I guess so."  She has had a crush on Syaoran LI for a while now.  She doesn't really know when it started but she knew she definitely liked him for than as a friend.

3

            The weekend came and Sakura was very, very nervous.  Syaoran would be coming over about the project.  She spent the past two hours finding an outfit with Kero's comments between her running around.  

            "Hey monster! Your...friend's here," Touya called from the bottom of the staircase.  

            "Coming!" Sakura called.  "Kero-chan, have you seen my pink headband?"

            "What?" Kero's eyes were glued to the videogame.  "The one with the pink cherry blossom on the side?"

            "Yah! Yah! Where is it?" She exclaimed.  

            "Dunno."

            She groaned in frustration.  That headband matched perfectly with her pink pleated jumper.  "Now what do I do with my hair?"

            "Just leave it," Kero smugly suggested. "It's only the kid."

            She looked at herself into he mirror.  She picked up the clip that Yukito-san bought her in Hong Kong: a purple clip with a cherry blossom and a pink tassel hanging off it.  She shook her head and put it down.  She settled with putting a simple red clip to the side of her hair.  "Stay in here, ok, Kero-chan?" she ran down the hall and down the stairs.  She found Touya and Syaoran in the living room, across from each other, glaring.

            "Onii-chan!" Sakura exclaimed. She approached Syaoran and pulled him away. 

            "What? I didn't do anything," Touya tisked. 

            Sakura took Syaoran to the dining room.  "Sorry about him..."

            "It's okay," Syaoran put his folder and notebook down.  "He doesn't scare me."  He pulled off his zip-down green cardigan, revealing his white shirt underneath.  He pulled out a pen from his blue jean pocket.  "So..." he pulled out all these pamphlets from his folder.  "Wei and I went looking for good apartments yesterday.  We can't afford a condo, okay?" Syaoran warned.

            Sakura smiled. "That's fine.  As for our wedding, Tomoyo-chan is willing to make our wedding outfits for free, even though I insist on paying for something.  So she would only let me pay for the bridesmaids and the ushers...," she noticed Syaoran was looking at her.  She began to blush. "Yes?"

            He shook his head.  "Nothing.  Um...what about a wedding hall?"

            "I thought we could save more money by using my house instead."

            "Good idea." Syaoran took out another pamphlet.  "Now...what about...the, um, honeymoon?  Where do you want to go?"

            "What can we afford?"

            Syaoran looked around.  He spotted her calculator behind a bowl of candy on the table.  "Can I borrow—," he reached for it.

            "Sure," she reached to hand it to him.  

            At the same instant as her hand touched the calculator, his hand landed on hers.  Their eyes met and their cheeks created a bright pink.  They stared into each other's eyes, speechless.

            "Hey Squirt!"

            Immediately, they retreated their hands and slammed them in their laps.  Touya stalked in.  "I'm going to the store, ok?  I'll be back...soon," as he said his last word, he gave a glare to Syaoran.  As they heard the door close, Sakura and Syaoran sighed in relief.

            "So..." Syaoran grabbed the calculator and pressed in a few digits.  "Where do you want to go?" he asked.

            "I dunno.  Maybe Hokkaido or Hong Kong," Sakura suggested.  

            Syaoran made a face.  "I'd rather not.  Having my honeymoon in the same city my family lives in is not a good idea."  He looked over to her because he heard a string on giggles coming out of her.  "What?" he asked.

            "You're really being serious," Sakura explained.  "You're sounding as if we are really planning our honeymoon."

            Syaoran sat back, trying to push away his blush.  "Uh...well, this project is seriously big with a serious grade." He set his eyes on her, smiling, as she continued to laugh.  Her smile always relaxed his heart.

            Sakura walked over to the nearby bookshelf and pulled out a foldout world map.  She laid it out on the table.  "All those tropical places seem nice...Cancun, Tahiti, Fiji, Jamaica..."

            "Hawaii is really nice too," Syaoran suggested.

            "Yah!  That would be great!" Sakura exclaimed.  "Which island?"

            "How about the Big Island?" Syaoran pointed to the largest island in the Hawaiian string. "There's not a lot of people there and there's a lot of sites to see."

            "Ooh!  Let's go there!" Sakura smiled brightly. "I wish this was all real!"

            He shrugged.  "You never know.  You might go to Hawaii someday."

            At her house, they typed up what they decided for wedding expenses: chapel, clothes, wedding coordinator, decorations and other sorts.  

            It was well in the afternoon by the time they were done.  "I'll go later to find prices on one room apartments and I'll go to a travel agency for that Hawaii stuff," Syaoran said as he slipped his shoes on at the front door.

            "Ok," Sakura opened the door.  "I'll finish the wedding calculations.  See you tomorrow," she waved as he walked out the door.  He waved back and walked away.

            She closed the front door, a large smile curled on her face.  She sped up the stairs and ran into her room.  She flopped on her bed, picked up her pink cell phone and dialed up Tomoyo.  "Tomoyo-chan, today went so well!"

            "Really?" came Tomoyo's voice.

            "Uh-huh," Sakura nodded her head.  "Syaoran and I are going to Hawaii!"

            Tomoyo let out a giggle.  "By the way you're talking, it sounds like you two are really going."

            Sakura giggled too.  "He did the same thing.  I first suggested going to Hong Kong but he said he didn't want to have his honeymoon where his family is. He was sounding so serious about it..." 

            "Hmm...maybe it's a sign," Tomoyo teased.

            "Tomoyo-chan, really! Stop that!" But Sakura was still laughing at the idea.

            "SA-KU-RA!" came a groaning voice.

            Sakura turned around and saw Kero was on the floor, completely pancaked and fidgeting.  "Oh my-! Sorry, Kero-chan!" She picked Kero up and placed it on her pillow.  

            "What happened?" Tomoyo asked.

            "I think I ran over him..." Sakura guessed.  Both girls giggled.  Sakura was the first to break.  "By the way, how did today go for you?"

            "Sano came after his practice."

            "Practice?"

            "The local children's theater is doing Cinderella and he's in it.  As soon as he arrived, he headed for my couch and fell asleep."

            "Oh...well, maybe he was really tired."

            "Yah, you're right," Tomoyo changed subject back to Syaoran. "You know what?"

            "What?"

            "I think this project is practice for you and Syaoran.  You know, in a few years, you'll probably plan a wedding--."

            "Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura turned a bright pink.  She continued to giggle madly as Kero rolled his eyes. 

3

            At school, they were given time to work in class.  Syaoran brought brochures on Hawaii for Sakura to see.  "Wow...the beaches are so pretty..." she marveled at the pictures of white sand and crystal blue water.  

            "Class! I have an announcement!" Terada-sensei got the class' attention.  "To my right is a small shelf.  Each couple has their own name on it, like Mr. and Mrs. Sota.  Here, you have to pick up important documents, such as pay checks and other information you need.  It will be filled after school every Monday for the remainder of this project."

            "Oh! That's today, isn't it?" Sakura turned to Syaoran.  "Can you pick up our envelopes?  I have to go straight to cheerleading practice." Syaoran nodded.

3

            Sakura came out of the shower, her hair wrapped in a towel.  She trotted down the stairs in her pink shorts and white shirt.  To her surprise, she saw her father at the door, letting Syaoran enter.  "Syaoran-kun!" she exclaimed.  "What are you doing here?" she approached him.

            "I was just inviting Li to dinner," Fujitaka said.

"Sorry Kinomoto-san.  I just came for a quick visit." Syaoran turned to Sakura. "We have a pay cut.  Both of us," Syaoran informed.

She was taken back by the news.  "What?"

Fujitaka left the two at the door.

"A pay cut? Why?" Sakura asked in disbelief.

"Terada-sensei had this with our checks," he handed Sakura's paycheck to her and a slip of paper.

Dear Kinomoto-san,

     Due to circumstances beyond our control, there will be a slight deduction of salary for the next few weeks.  Please be patient until all matters are resolved.

Sincerely,

Tomoeda School Board

"How will this affect our expenses? I already turned in the wedding records."

"I know," Syaoran nodded. "But Terada-sensei is going to explain more tomorrow and the final expenses are due later."

Sakura sighed.  "Ok, I guess we'll figure it out later."

"Ok." Syaoran turned around and walked away.

Sakura closed the door behind her and sulked into the dining room.  "What happened to you?" Touya asked.

She flopped down on her chair next to him. "Syaoran and I got a pay cut and we have to stay within our budget or our grade will go down."

"All right!" Touya said as he watched Fujitaka bring out a small grill.  "We're having oden!"

"Onii-chan! I need help!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Well...why don't you cut down on the amount of guests.  That will cut down on your catering," Touya suggested.

"And to be sure, keep your decorations to a minimal; that should help your budget," her father added.  "You can have a nice yet simple wedding,"

By now, Sakura was jotting this all down on paper.  She sighed.  "Someday, when I really get married, I hope this doesn't happen."

"You mean 'if," Touya said, teasingly. "You gotta find a sucker who wants to marry you first."

"Onii-chan!"

3

The school bell rang.  "Uh...Li and Kinomoto...May I see you at my desk, please?"

Sakura just walked in class when she heard him.  She and Syaoran headed up to Terada-sensei. "Yes?"

"I have a question about your expense reports," Terada-sensei explained.  "Because of your pay-cuts, you had to reduce some things.  On Li's, there was alterations on the honeymoon while on Kinomoto's, it was on the wedding."

Sakura and Syaoran exchanged looks. "You did that?" they said in unison.

"I need an answer from you by lunchtime or it will be considered late."

Sakura's mouth dropped.  She and Syaoran walked back to their seats.  "Why'd you make the cut on the honeymoon?" she asked.

"Well, there wasn't much in the wedding so if I cut that, we might as well not have guests," Syaoran explained. "We can save a lot more money if we go to Hokkaido instead of Hawaii."

"That's not true," Sakura said. "I cut down the wedding decorations and some guests...that helped us save a little money."

"Probably not as much as the honeymoon!" 

"It's enough though!"

By now, the whole class was watching them fight.  

"You should have asked me first!  If you did, we wouldn't have to worry about turning it in late."

Sakura couldn't believe her ears.  "What are you talking about? You didn't talk with me either!"

"Alright, class, let's start." Terada-sensei stood up and began to take role.  Syaoran flopped in his chair and growled.

3

Sakura and Tomoyo sat on the lawn at school.  "Gee, I never expected everyone to watch us fight."

"Yah.  I mean, you two haven't done that in a long time." Tomoyo sighed.  "You know, a lot of people wish Terada-sensei allowed divorces because it's really hard trying to work out a marriage.  It's like Rika; she is having trouble with just getting Aoshi not to shoot her ideas down the drain.  I think Terada-sensei is trying to teach us teamwork so maybe you should talk with..." Tomoyo looked behind Sakura's shoulder.  

"Huh?" Sakura looked back to see Syaoran behind her.

"We need to talk," he said simply.  They entered the building, towards the classroom.  "We have to give him an answer."

"We're going to Hokkaido," Sakura answered.

Syaoran froze.  "Why did you decide on that..?"

"Well, Tomoyo-chan and I just calculated it and we would have saved about ¥ 50,000 if we altered the honeymoon." Sakura looked at him. "Plus, we can always use that money to start saving." She smiled.  "Besides, Hokkaido's nice during this time of year."

"Are you sure you want to?" Syaoran asked.  

Without answering, Sakura opened the door to the classroom.  "Terada-sensei," Sakura said. "We made a decision."

"And that it?"

"We're going to use Li Syaoran's plan," she answered.

"All right," Terada-sensei pulled out a sheet from his notebook, wrote a few things down and stuck it in Sakura's portfolio.  "If this happens again, I won't give you your second chance.  Make sure everything is together."

Sakura and Syaoran nodded in agreement.  They walked out of the room.  "Wow, thank goodness," Sakura started down the hall until she realized that Syaoran wasn't beside her.  He stood near the closed door.  "What's wrong Syaoran?"

He looked down.  "Sakura...I'm sorry.  I should have talked with you."

She shook her head. "Don't worry, I did the same thing; I'm sor--."

"It's just that..." he interrupted. "I figured that the wedding is really, really important but as for the honeymoon...when it comes down to it, as long as I'm with my wife, it doesn't matter where I go.  Just as long as she's with me."

Sakura's eyes began to mist, toughed by his sweet words and sincerity. "Let's never fight again.  And if we have a problem, let's talk it out, ok?" she held out her pinky.

Syaoran hooked his pinky with hers. A slight blush crawled on his face. "Ok."

Zoom.

Five girls piled behind a corner of the hall.  Chiharu whispered in Tomoyo's ear, "Are you getting all this?"

"Every moment," she giggled.

While Meiling gritted her teeth, Naoko, Rika, Chiharu and Tomoyo watched the two.  "I think those crazy kids are going to make it," Naoko smiled.

3

Each girl had a flower in their hand while each boy had a plastic ring in their pocket.  After the vows, each groom would slip the ring onto their bride's finger.  After all the weddings took place, there was a large "reception" for all, and then lunch break right after.

3

"I think Li-kun was blushing when he was saying his vows," Tomoyo was rewinding her video camera.

"You're making that up!" Sakura giggled, although secretly, she hoped.

They walked and passed by a baby-clothing store.  They gave each other looks and smiled.  "Let's go get a head start." Tomoyo smiled.

Sakura nodded. "Ok."

_End of part 1_

_(Note: I'll have the second part done as soon as possible. Now, as for me being from America, I don't think I converted the yen very well.  It's supposed to be roughly around $600-$700...one of those...and I used a western wedding style because I don't know much about traditional Japanese weddings.  Something about drinking sake or tea 3 times...I'm not sure so sorry about that! Card Captor Sakura is created by CLAMP, blah blah blah.)_


	2. Part 2: Family Matters

Project CCS Part 2: Family Matters

            When the students entered the classroom that morning, there were piles of boxes waiting for them at the front of the room.  "Children, hurry up and have a seat," Terada-sensei told them.  They all scurried to their seats.  By now, the desks were in rows, two side by side, and each person beside their match.  "So...how are all the married couples?"

            "I want a divorce!" someone yelled.

            "Now, I hope you enjoyed your relaxing two weeks because I have a surprise for you all."  Terada-sensei opened a box and pulled out a baby doll.  Everyone gasped.  "That's right!  Each of you will receive your babies today.  This is the second part of your assignment.  During the next four weeks, you will name the baby, take care of it and record expenses like rent for the apartment, food, and things like that."

            "Can I get a boy?" Sano asked.

            Terada-sensei shrugged.  "You pick one of these boxes and that determines its gender."

            "What do you want to name our child?" Sakura asked Syaoran.

            Syaoran shrugged.  "I dunno."

            Terada-sensei started calling couples up to his desk.  Finally, when he called "The Li Family," Sakura jumped up, grabbed Syaoran by the hand and bolted to the front of the room.  Terada-sensei smiled at her enthusiasm.  "Now one of you go and pick a box."  Syaoran decided to be difficult and picked the very bottom in the very back.  He handed his package to Terada-sensei.  Terada-sensei pried the box open, revealing a doll with small light-brown ringlets and dark amber eyes.  "Congratulations, you are the proud parents of a healthy baby girl."

            Sakura smiled and so did Syaoran.

            "You two will hopefully have a name for the child by the end of today or tomorrow.  Hold your wrists out, both of you," he instructed.  They did as they were told.  He snapped on their wrists a medical bracelet with a pink plastic key strung on a connected sling.

            "What is this?  Is this from the box?" Syaoran asked, pulling on the bracelet.

            "Yes.  On the baby's back," Terada-sensei turned the doll around to reveal a slot in its back, "is a slot to stick the key in.  Inside is a timer and whenever it starts crying and hasn't been attended to for ½ hour, it will keep a record.  The more 'neglect marks', the lower your grade will get at the end of the project.  To stop the crying, just stick the key in and it will turn off.  You two must keep a log of who takes care of the baby on certain days as well as your living expenses.  Inside the box are some extra clothes to use.  Every Monday, I will check your babies and you must bring them wherever you go.  That's why the keys are attached to you and no babysitters at all.  Any questions?"

            "Yeah," Syaoran started.  "Does this thing drool, or wet its diapers or whatever?"

            "No, just cries.  You have enough to worry about."

            Sakura took the doll in her arms, cradling it while Syaoran took the box and walked back to their desk.

            She played with the baby's hand, marveling at its likeness and resemblance to a real child.  Syaoran found it quite silly about at the same time, endearing.  Her eyes shown the innocence and purity that he adored so much.  "Let's give her a unique name."

            "Ok...but what?" Sakura asked, not looking up.

            Syaoran looked to his 'wife' once more, marveling at her young beauty.  He has dreamed of telling her how he truly felt; and often during these past few weeks, he wondered how it would be like if they were a real couple: husband and wife.  He wished to be with her.  Now they have a child to take care of.  Can they do it with their small income now that there's another mouth to feed?  Before Syaoran started worrying, he took a deep breath.  The doll was plastic, Sakura and he were only 11 years old and this was a crucial project.  _Reality check: You're taking this way too seriously._

            "What is it?" Sakura asked him.

            Syaoran finally noticed he was smiling madly.  "Oh, nothing," he said and looked away.

3

            "Really?" Sakura wedged her pink cell phone between her ear and shoulder.  She put a pink jumper on the doll. "Sano can't take care of the baby?"

            "He has rehearsal most of the week.  I don't think he can take it," Tomoyo seized her crying child.  "Poor Kenshin..."

            Sakura sighed.  She tied a red ribbon in the baby's hair.  "Hm...maybe next week."  Just then, she heard her house phone ring.  "Hold on Tomoyo-chan."  While holding the child, the cell phone on her shoulder, she picked up the other phone. "Hello?  Kinomoto residence?"

            "Sakura?" 

            Her heart skipped a beat.  "Syaoran-kun?"

            "I thought of a name," he said.

            "What?"

            "A name.  I was thinking of using 'Hope.'"  They were both silent until Syaoran nervously responded. "Of course if you don't like it, we—"

            Sakura smiled. "I love it!  I like that name."

            Syaoran sighed in relief. "Good.  Ok...that's all."

            Sakura giggled.  "Oh, ok.  Thanks.  See you tomorrow."

            "Yah, bye."

            Sakura hung up the phone. "O-ho! So now Li-kun is making house calls?" Tomoyo giggled.

            "No! He just called because we decided a name."

            "What is it?"

            "Hope."

            "Oh that's such a pretty name!" Tomoyo cooed.  "He sure cares about his 'family'."

            Sakura laughed, slightly blushing.

            "By the way," Tomoyo asked, " I don't hear any video games or loud talking in the background.  Where's Kero-chan?"

            "He's sleeping; I guess he got tired out playing the new Gran Turismo."

            "Sakura! Dinner!" Fujitaka called.

            "Got to go.  Bye Tomoyo-chan."  She hung up the phone, placed it on her bed and ran down the stairs to the dining table.  She placed the baby on the table as Touya stared at it. "Who's...is...that?" he asked.

            "She's Syaoran's and mine," Sakura smiled.  "This is Hope, your niece."

            "You're kidding right?  Why is Terada-sensei making you carry dolls?"

            "Because this is the second part of our project.  The first part was the marriage and the second part is the family."

            "Well, I think it's a great idea.  It helps kids understand responsibilities at an early age," Fijitaka said.

            Touya frowned. "A plastic doll can do that?"

            "Her name is Hope," Sakura snapped. 

Just then, the doorbell rang.  Touya left the room to answer it.  When he came back, he arrived with Yukito.  

            "Hi!" their guest greeted.

            "Hi! Are you joining us for dinner?" Sakura asked.

            "Yes," Yukito's eyes trailed to the little doll in her arms. "Oh wow! She's so cute!"

            "Her name is Hope."

            "That's a really great name for her!"

            "Yah, Syaoran named her," she said, slightly blushing.

            Yukito smiled but Touya just scowled and mumbled, "Hmm...my niece is made of plastic."

            Yukito laughed. "Touya, you have no imagination."

            "Um...Yukito-san?" Sakura addressed.

            "Yes?"

            "Can I ask you a favor?  Will you be Hope's godfather?" she asked. 

            Yukito smiled sweetly. "Of course! I'm flattered you asked me!"

            Touya rolled his eyes.

3

            "Is that all we need?" Sakura asked her 'husband.'

            Syaoran scratched his head with the pen cap on top of his pen. "I guess so." They had just finished writing down Hope's vital statistics.

            "Here, hold her," Sakura handed Hope to him as she ripped out the written-on paper and got up.  She headed to Terada-sensei's desk and put the piece of paper in his in-box.  She headed back to her seat and reached out for the baby.

            "Hey, you always hold her," Syaoran said.

            Sakura was a tad surprised at his remark. "Sorry. Do you want to hold her?"

            He slowly nodded his head.  She smiled and allowed the doll sit on his lap.  Sakura found it quite...sweet.  In fact, she found it adorable that he wanted to have time with the child.

            "Um, Sakura? May I take care of the child tonight?" Syaoran asked meekly.

            She smiled. "Sure." Just then, the doll began to wail.  She laughed. "Are you sure you can handle her?"

            Syaoran pulled on his key, unbuttoned its shirt from the back and stuck the plastic key into the slot.  Its crying stopped. Syaoran looked up at his wife. "It's no problem."

3

            Syaoran sluggishly picked up the doll that laid beside him on his bed.  He inserted his key in Hope's back, preventing her crying to go any further.  He flopped back into bed and started to snooze. "No pro...zzz..." he muttered.

3

            Meiling and Syaoran sat at the breakfast table, with their dolls close by.  

            "You don't look so good," Meiling said, looking up from her food.

            Syaoran slowly nodded. "Hope cried about 4 times last night."

            "Hm...I don't really have a problem with Yusaku," Meiling finished the rest of her tea.

            Syaoran sighed.  He just hoped he wouldn't fall asleep in class.

3

            Sakura watched Syaoran put his head on his desk.  He let out a long yawn.  "Bottle..." he muttered. "Hope needs her bottle..." 

            Sakura giggled at the sight. She felt sorry for him.  Syaoran slept, still cradling the baby on his lap, mumbling loads of nonsense.  The class was awfully quiet, taking notes on Terada-sensei's lecture on history.

            Sakura tapped Syaoran's shoulder with her pencil. "Syaoran, wake up," she whispered.

            Suddenly, he sprang to his feet and said, "I need to change her diaper!"

            The whole class stopped and stared at the now blushing-from-embarrassment Syaoran.  He immediately sat back down and took a deep breath.  Terada-sensei smiled. "I guess some parents had a rough night.  Please try to refrain from falling asleep in class, Li."

            Syaoran nodded. "Yes, sensei." He sighed. "That was embarrassing."

            "Actually, I thought it was kinda cute," Sakura muttered. 

            "Huh?"

            Sakura shook her head. "Nothing."

3

            Tomoyo sat alone on the steps near Tomoeda field.  She finished changing her baby, Kenshin, when she noticed Syaoran walking up to her. She gave him a weak smile.

            Syaoran noticed. "What's wrong?"

            "Li-kun...uh," Tomoyo looked behind him and spotted a figure coming towards them. "Sano-kun?" she stood to her feet as Sano came up to her. 

            "Tomoyo-san, I gotta tell you something," Sano said. "This Sunday, I can't take the child."

            "But you said you'd try," Tomoyo argued.

            "I know, but I'm pulling 3 shows that day.  I'll be too busy.  But you can take care of Kito--."

            "Kenshin," Tomoyo corrected.

            "Whatever, bye!" Sano ran away before Tomoyo could add a word.

            Tomoyo sat back down.  She sighed.  She noticed Syaoran looking at her.  She forced a smile.  "He's very hard-working.  It's not his fault."

            "But he didn't have performances all week, did he?" Syaoran asked.

            "He needed rest."__

            "He's making you do all the work and you know it.  Why don't you tell Terada-sensei?"

            Tomoyo shrugged.  "I don't want to get anyone in trouble."

            "But it's troubling you," Syaoran noted.  "You have to make him work for his grade.  I can tell you don't like taking care of Kenshin all by yourself."

            "But how do I get him to work? I try but he cuts me off," Tomoyo explained.

            "Grab his attention and hold onto it until you're done talking," Syaoran suggested.

3

            It was Saturday morning.  Sano heard a knock at his door.  He opened it and stared in shock. "To-Tomoyo-san?"

            "Good morning, Sano-kun," Tomoyo greeted.  In front of her was Kenshin, which sat in a blue toy stroller.  "You and I are meeting with Li-kun's family and Kintaro-san's family at the park.  The 9 of us are going to take a nice morning walk."

            "But...but..." Sano stammered. "I...uh...oh! I have rehearsal."

            "Actually, I just came from your theater and talked with your director, Toshi-san."

            "You did?" Sano gulped. 

            "Yes. And he said rehearsal isn't until 5 o'clock, so that gives you plenty of time to spend with your son."

            "I...uh..."

            By now, Tomoyo was on the brink of aggravation.  However, she kept her smile. "I know you love acting but what you don't know is that we have to keep a log of who takes care of Kenshin.  So far, your name is not anywhere in the log and if you keep making excuses, that log will still not have your name. Terada-sensei will fail you, therefore not allowing you to have extra-curricular activities until you make it all up."

            Sano narrowed his eyes. "You wouldn't dare..."

            "Try me," Tomoyo returned his glare. "If you don't play the good father I know you can be, you'll never work in this town again."

            That's all it took for Sano to grab his coat and bolt out the door with his estranged family.

3

            Sakura took a deep breath of the morning air.  She sighed in contentment. "This is great; isn't it Tomoyo-chan?"

            Tomoyo, armed with a camcorder, nodded in agreement. She ran her lens across the very cute scene: Syaoran pushing a pink stroller, Sano pushing a blue stroller and Kintaro pushing a purple stroller.  

            "Hey, why are the guys pushing the kids?" Sano growled. "Why aren't the girls--." He stopped his mouth once he saw the look Tomoyo gave him from behind the camera. "Why are we going out in public--." Another look and Sano went silent again.

            "How'd you get him to come out?" Meiling whispered to Tomoyo.

            She smiled. "He's a smart guy."

            "Don't you want to relax and hang out?" Sakura asked Sano.  He just released a defeated sigh.  She turned to Syaoran. "Well, you're happy to be with us, right?"

Uh-oh.  She gave him one of _those_ smiles.  Her signature "cheery-super-cute-he-nearly-faints-every-time-she-does-it" smile.  Syaoran gulped.

Kintaro looked at Syaoran. "Li-kun, your face is red; really red.  Did you get an allergic reaction to something?"

"Nope," Sano chuckled, "he just saw Sakura-san and went crazy."

"Shaddup!" Syaoran screamed.

"Hoe?" Sakura said.  Meiling rolled her eyes while the rest began to laugh.

All of a sudden, the three babies cried in unison.  In a panic, the fathers picked up their kid, stuck their key in and set them back in their strollers.

"You're videotaping every moment, huh?" Sakura asked her best friend.

"Of course!" Tomoyo cooed.  "This is a big step in our lives: learning responsibilities, helping others and... blossoming relationships," Tomoyo looked at Sakura when saying the last two words.

Sakura knew exactly what she meant.  She blushed, unaware that Syaoran noticed.

3

It was near noon when the families decided to head to a nearby ice-cream shop.  The long hike up the hill was painful on their legs, so as soon as they bought their ice cream, they sat on rows of benches.  The strollers were lined up next to the bench Kintaro and Meiling sat on.

"Delicious!" Sakura said. Tomoyo nodded in agreement.

A sudden wind struck, causing the wheels of the strollers to rotate.  "Oh no!" Meiling cried. In a flash, the three strollers sped down the hill.  Syaoran got on his feet and chased them, followed by Kintaro, then Sano. 

"Geez, why are we chasing after dolls?" Sano asked in between pants.

"If they break, we fail automatically!" Kintaro answered.

"Crap! Someone stop those strollers!" Sano called out loud.

The strollers headed towards the lake.  They hit the railing, and the babies flew out of their seats.  The three fathers jumped after their kids.

When the wives caught up, Kintaro, Sano and Syaoran held their babies above them while they laid facedown in mud.

"Are you guys ok?" Tomoyo asked.

The boys got up and handed their children over to them.  Sano frowned. "Yah...I feel gross."

"That was so cool!" Meiling exclaimed. "So heroic!"

"Eating dirt is heroic?" Kintaro crawled over the railing.

Sakura held her child tightly. "Thank goodness nothing happened to her.  Thank you, Syaoran-kun."

He smiled at her, knowing he did a good thing.

3

Weeks passed. Terada-sensei was collecting the boxes from each couple.  "Well, class, I hope you all liked this project.  After I collected all the boxes, please place your desks in single rows."

Sakura looked away as Terada-sensei took Hope's box, with Hope inside.  He headed back to his seat while everyone got to their feet, pulling their desk in their original spot.

"Sakura-chan, you look so sad," Tomoyo noted. "You're going to miss Hope, huh?"

Sakura sighed and nodded. Syaoran pulled his desk behind hers.

3

"So where's that doll you keep carrying around?" Touya asked. 

"I had to give it back."

"Why?"

"So the next class can use it," Sakura turned the stove on.

Just then, the doorbell rang.  Sakura walked over to the front door to answer it.  Her eyes widened. "Sy-Syaoran-kun?"

"Good evening," he greeted.

"Go-good evening. Why--." Before she finished, he gave her a cardboard box. She looked at it, then him. "For me?"

He nodded.

"Do I open it now?"

He nodded again.

She pulled off the lid and recognized it immediately.  Her eyes shined as she saw what was in the box.  She pulled it out. "Hope!" She looked up at Syaoran. "But how?"

"I asked Terada-sensei.  After he got all the info, he took out the battery and gave her to me," Syaoran explained. "Besides, I knew you would miss her..."

"Thank you so much!" Sakura hugged him tightly.  He immediately turned an intense shade of red.

"Hey, who was at—." Touya stopped in his tracks as he saw Sakura embracing that brat. "Argh! What do you think you're doing, Gaki?!"

Syaoran suddenly went in defense mode.  While he and Touya exchanged growls, Sakura sighed. "Syaoran-kun, would you like to stay for dinner?"

"Huh?'

"What?" Touya exclaimed.

"I'm cooking, so it's nothing fancy.  It's just okonomiyakis," Sakura said.

"Sure," Syaoran answered.

"Great!" Sakura took him by the hand. "Let's go!" she led him to the dining room as she held onto Hope.

"Wait a minute!" Touya protested. He heard them in a fit of laughter. He slowly followed. He turned and stood at the doorway.  The doll sat on the dining table.  The kaijuu had a beautiful smile on her face as the gaki was helping her in the kitchen.  The gaki was smiling at her. A soft smile curled on Touya's face. "I guess...there's nothing I can really do..."

_...fin.._

(Note: CCS doesn't belong to me. Woo-hoo! I'm done! Sorry I made everybody wait for so long! I had to make some good product for you all.  I hope you enjoyed reading Project CCS cuz I had fun writing it. Later!)


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